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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. deal — to handle
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. spring — of water
  6. land — to come down
  7. scale — size or range
  8. land — ground
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cap — a hat
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — the season
  16. cap — of ice
  17. row — a line
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — a lid
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. land — a country
  22. scale — in music
  23. spring — a coil
  24. track — a song

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com